It's 8:30 AM, a jackhammer is going FULL THROTTLE outside my window for the third hour straight, and I'm over here typing about unconditional love.

But that obnoxious jackhammer just gave my entire family the perfect real-time lesson in how our thoughts create our reality. One daughter felt annoyed, my husband felt compassion (because he knows someone who got nerve damage from jackhammer work), and others were pretty neutral about the whole thing.

Same situation. Totally different emotional experiences.

This is unconditional love in action, people.

What You'll Learn In This Episode:

The Michelle Moment: Years ago, my friend Michelle asked the question that changed everything: "So when you say unconditional love, you mean love WITHOUT conditions, right?" (Thank you, Michelle, for getting clarity on that life-changing concept!)

The Cinnamon Roll Effect: You know how my mom's homemade cinnamon rolls would make everyone congregate in the kitchen? That's the kind of magnetic energy we want to put out as parents - unconditional love so strong our kids can practically smell it.

Why We Sabotage Our Own Happiness: We actually choose NOT to feel love sometimes. Wild, right? We decide our kids "don't deserve" our love when they're acting up. But plot twist - you're the only one who experiences your emotions. When you withhold love, you're literally punishing yourself.

The Gym Analogy That'll Blow Your Mind: My daughter's friend Grace has been crushing it at the gym for a year. People literally stop her to comment on her transformation. Meanwhile, my body reflects "a mom of six who likes chocolate." Both are totally valid! But it shows we all have untapped capacity - including for unconditional love.

The Behavioralism Trap: We've been taught that love is a reward and anger is a consequence. But real change happens from the inside out, and the only way to help your child's heart soften is to create an environment where their nervous system feels safe.

The Truth Bomb Section:

• Your child's behavior cannot make you stay frustrated (even though it feels like it can)
• Love is available to you 24/7, regardless of what anyone else is doing
• You can love someone deeply and still set firm boundaries
• The emotion of love benefits YOU first - it's basically the ultimate gift you give yourself

My Challenge For You:

Pick someone in your life who's challenging to love right now. Write down all the conditions you're putting on loving them. Then ask yourself: "What would it feel like to love them no matter what, all the time?"

Try it with yourself. What would unconditional love toward yourself look like?

The Random Love Experiment:

Next time you're out and about, try what I call "random love" (yes, I need a better name for this). Look at strangers and think "I love you" in your head. It sounds weird, feels amazing, and sends more love out into the world. What's not to love about that?

"How we treat ourselves in private is how we will treat others in public."

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista

What if I told you that acceptance - the thing you think means "giving up" - actually requires MORE effort than fighting? And what if this one shift could stop your parenting triggers in their tracks?

Hey parents! I'm giving myself high fives over here because this episode is going to blow your mind about what acceptance actually means in connected parenting. If you've been in League with me, you're probably rolling your eyes because I say "accept, accept, accept" ALL the time. But today I'm doing a different spin on acceptance that will challenge everything you think you know.

What You'll Learn:

• Why acceptance is the hardest (and most powerful) parenting tool
• The 3-step process to accept triggering moments "as if you chose them"
• How to stop your nervous system from hijacking your parenting responses
• The counter-intuitive reason fighting your kids' behavior makes it worse

The Acceptance Challenge That Will Change Your Parenting

"Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it." - Eckhart Tolle

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista

I’m standing in my kitchen, staring at the mess, kids bickering in the background, and my brain is screaming, “We’re going down!”

You know those moments when you’re about to lose it, when correction mode feels inevitable, and you just want to eject out of the whole parenting gig for five minutes? Yeah, I’ve been there. More times than I can count.

And here’s the wild thing: those are the exact moments when I’ve learned to practice something that used to feel impossible for me, feeling proud of myself.

Not arrogant. Not fake. Not “my kids are perfect angels and I’m crushing it.” I mean the quiet kind of proud, the kind that whispers, “Hey, you stayed calm. You showed up. You tried.”

This episode is the second half of a two-part series. In Episode #176 we talked about regret (ouch). Today we’re swinging to the other end of the spectrum: pride. The good kind. The kind we want to model for our kids so they don’t grow up thinking they have to earn love or validation by being flawless.

Here’s what you’ll hear inside:

• Why pride has been so hard for me (confession: I used to literally gag when my husband read me kind emails from clients).
• How parents in my programs are learning to celebrate themselves in the middle of laundry piles, meltdowns, and messy houses.
• Why feeling proud is not optional fluff — it’s actually a superpower that calms your nervous system and fuels growth.
• A question you can ask yourself today that will help you create the emotion of pride on purpose.

Parenting is full of emergency landings. You’re going to have turbulence, and you’re going to have moments when you’re convinced you’ve lost the plot. But if you can walk away from those moments and still say, “I’m proud of myself for how I showed up” that changes everything.

So let’s talk about how to land the plane safely, even when you feel like you’re about to lose it.

Next Steps: Leave a review if you've been enjoying the CMP Podcast

My Book: https://cmp.works/1xs

My IG: https://cmp.works/ista